Over fifty walkers joined the Kentish Town Neighbourhood Forum’s North Kentish Town Walkabout in delightful autumn sunshine on October 6th and 7th. It was a pleasure to welcome so many interested Kentish Towners – perhaps curious after the Kentish Towner Blog described the area as “bucolic”.
On our walks we saw development sites in several areas: at the lower end of College Lane backing onto gardens in Evangelist Road; on the empty triangular site on the lower end of Lady Somerset Road; the site of the former Railway Club between College Lane and Little Green Street. For more information about this site go to http://www.littlegreenstreet.com/
The Ingestre Road Estate has been subject to a few proposals by the London Borough of Camden over the years including turning underused garages into light industrial units and, more recently under the Council’s Community Investment Programme, redevelopment of the elderly people’s home and the community centre. All these proposals have been rejected totally by the Tenants and Residents Association.
Ingestre Road leads to a railway footbridge much used by Dartmouth Park residents heading for Tufnell Park Station, La Swap students, and North Kentish Towners walking to the Heath. The bridge is in a lamentable state of repair.
Another planning issue in this part of Kentish Town is redevelopment of industrial or light industrial premises where there is a presumption by developers to build high density flats or houses in difficult to access spaces close to existing dwellings. Of especial concern to residents is that these developments overlook gardens and existing houses. The development of back gardens in corner properties converted into flats has been resisted in some places and not in others. The loss of amenity and over- development where this has occurred means that we should be asking Camden for clearer policy on this.
The refurbishment of the shops in Fortess Road has led to a more flourishing shopping street – including a well stocked greengrocers long needed in the area, a friendly stationers and a fabulous ice cream shop in addition to our Somali bakers. Thanks are due to Chris Ruocco, tailor to the stars, who opened his shop for walkers even on Sunday.
Everyone objected to the wasted boarded up ground floor of the flats on the Tally Ho site.
For one walker’s view of the walkabout please go to:
http://www.andrewwhitehead.net/1/post/2012/10/north-kentish-town-walkabout.html
Kentish Town Neighbourhood Forum 
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